Die Chinesisch-AG

Taiwan 2011

After a long journey on the train and plane (13-hour-flight), we finally arrived in Taiwan, excited to meet our exchange students. They were already waiting for us and the first (of many!) pictures were taken.

At once we noticed the hospitality of the Taiwanese at a rich traditional breakfast.

Although we were all a bit tired and not used to the heat, we spent our first day in Taoyuan, where we went to a <<Shabu-Shabu – Restaurant>> and tried our first hot pot ever. As the whole class was at the restaurant, we already had the chance to get to know them better.

But we did not only try traditional Taiwanese food, but also a famous drink: <<Bubble Tea>>

(珍珠奶茶). Some liked it, others did not.

The following Monday was our first day at Dayuan International Senior High School. The school had prepared a Welcome Ceremony and the German class sang a German song for us (Bitte gib mir nur ein Wort). Then we were given a school uniform, which even had our names stitched in.

We want to express our gratitude for this and also thank the prinicipal of Dayuan, the parents council, the Goethe-Institut , the Deutsches Institut and our teacher Wan-erh Liu-Hofmann, who made this trip to Taiwan possible.

Then it was our turn and we tried to introduce ourselves in Chinese and sang
>>Xiao wei>>

(小薇).

We have to say that everybody was really nice and at some times we felt like stars, because everybody wanted to take photos of us.

After this exciting day at school, we were really happy when we could return to our host-families, who were already waiting for us with some dinner. At this stage, we also want to thank our host-families, who welcomed us so friendly.

On Tuesday, an event we had already been looking forward to, took place: Together with our Taiwanese host-sisters/brothers and some teachers, we went on a bus trip through Taoyuan.

At first we visited <<Li Teng fang>>, an old traditional house, then we had some typical lunch (Seafood). In the afternoon we first went to a museum of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, and later to an old commercial street, where we had the chance to try even more traditional Taiwanese food (Stinky Tofu etc.)

After this interesting trip we returned to the school, where we had our first Chinese classes.

Two teachers tried their best to teach us some basic skills in Chinese, and we in return tried hard to learn as much as possible. But we didn’t only learn a lot about Chinese language, but also about Chinese culture. The lessons were always very interesting and we want to thank our teachers, who were always so patient, for it.

On Thursday our exchange partners then asked us to take part in yet another performance of <<Bitte gib mir nur ein Wort>>, which should take place the following day. Of course we agreed to do so and practiced it with them.

Everything went well on Friday, and we really enjoyed the performance.

All in all we had a great time at Dayuan International Senior High School and in Taiwan in general. Again we want to thank everybody, who made this trip possible, and express our gratitude.

xiè xiè - 谢

Kristina, Sarah, Veronika, Linda, Hannah, Vanessa and Max